


Just Like Old Times

by orphan_account



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: Explicit Language, Gen, Mentions of Death, Paultryk, Post The End, lowkey-highkey toredd, mentions of eddmatt, mentions of neighbors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 13:06:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9072940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Does he really regret the robot "accident" enough to come back?





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is a little angsty 
> 
> ((My apologize to those who were expecting a second chapter. Writers block hit me incredibly hard with this one and I couldn't finish it. There is a possibility of it coming out late, but it will not be part of this story. It will be completely separate. I'm sorry.))

The coffee shop was small, with only 5 black, square tables, fitting 3 or 4 chairs. In the coffee shop, sat Tord, Paul and Patryk, all on a week break from the Red Army. A well needed break, one that Tord felt he’d never get. They were all very familiar with this town, Tord especially.

They all knew how these trips back to London went-the time they spent away from the army was a time for Paul and Pat to get into their pink and yellow hoodies, but mainly, flirt more than Tord thought humanly possible. This was a time for Tord to take off the blue over coat as well, and cover his robot arm with his red hoodie. He bought a new one, by the way, considering what had happened to the old one from the last time he visited his old friend’s house. That was 4 years ago now.

The event on Dirdum Lane was something that rarely escaped Tords mind. He thought about it constantly. He thought about his lies, his use of Edd, Matt, and Tom to attempt world domination. He thought about punching Matt. He didn’t realize how precious Matts looks were to him. Before Tord left the first time, Matts own face was never a concern of his, which obviously changed during the 8 years Tord was gone. He thought about Edd. He was Tords first friend, and Tord had to fuck that up. No, he didn’t do that with the robot. He did that one by lying right to Edds face. He lied about everything. _Everything_. Tord even thought about Tom. That bastard tried to kill him. But then again, didn’t Tord try to kill Tom? Heck, Tord even _laughed_ when he saw the figure who he thought was Tom lying motionless on the ground.

But yet, Tord didn’t feel bad? Not just about Tom, no, but he didn’t feel bad for lying to Edd or punching Matt. Thinking these thoughts didn’t give him… any feelings towards these people, really.

“What do you think, Sir?” Tord found himself spaced out, and realized he hadn’t been listening to a damn thing his soldiers had been talking about. He was too focused on the same thing he always seemed to space out over.

“What?” Tord asked tiredly. Paul narrowed his eyebrows slightly. They had all noticed the change in the Norwegians personality after the robot incident. Everything he did, he did with caution. But, he became way more determined than ever before. But as of lately, Tord just spaced out. They would find him at his desk, supposedly doing paperwork, but instead he’d just be staring at the paper with something completely different on his mind. And as much as he refused to tell Paul and Patryk what was wrong, the couple always seemed to know what he was thinking.

“Which do you think is better, chocolate or vanilla?” Patryk repeated. Seriously? That’s what they wanted to know? That’s what broke Tords train of thought?

Tord hesitated. “I don’t know,” He waved off the question. “vanilla?”

“Ha!” Patryk laughed at his boyfriend in victory. They must’ve been arguing about the better ice cream or cake flavor or whatever, and it sounded like Tord unintentionally agreed with Pat. Not a conversation he was necessarily unhappy about missing.

“Are you alright, Sir?” Paul leaned in, placing his elbows on the table. “You were spacing out again.”

Tords might’ve been nervous if this was one of the first time they showed concern over him, but this had happened so many times before that it hardly phased him. “Hm?” He took a sip of the coffee he ordered about 15 minutes ago, still warm. “No, I’m fine, really. Just a little tired.” Which… wasn’t a full lie, this time.

Paul cocked an eyebrow. He was getting tired of hearing that answer. “You sure? You know, this has been happening a lot recently-we’ve been noticing you spacing out lately. I think we really need to talk about it if something is bothering you-”

Tord didn’t care to hear the rest of what Paul had to say. Tord knew what he knew and that’s all that mattered. Paul and Patryk didn’t need to know the full story. “I’m fine, Paul.” Tord said in a very serious voice. Paul hesitated before leaning back in his chair a little. He wished for Patryk to grab his had like he always does when Tord snaps at him, but he didn’t this time. The angle was too awkward; Patryk was too far away.

After a moment of silence, Tord finally spoke up. “I’m going to use the loo,” Tord sighed. Getting up and stuffing his hands in his pockets, he headed to the restroom.

The two men watched as Tord walked away in silence. Pat looked from his leader to his boyfriend. When Tord was out of ear shot, he asked, “You okay?”

Paul sighed. “I’m worried about him.” Pat frowned before rubbing his lovers back to calm and comfort him.

“Me too.”

…

The sound of a bell ringing caught Paul and Patryk’s attention as the door to the coffee shop flung open. 3 men walked in, a tall ginger with his arm around a smaller brunet, both laughing about something. Behind them, a tanner skinned man walked in, a small smile on his face with his hands shoved in the pockets of his blue hoodie. The two laughing calmed down a bit as they went to find a table to sit at, while the blue hooded one walked towards the counter to order, as if they were following a routine. They sat diagonal from Paul and Pat, further from the front door than the two.

Tom ordered the usual, paid, then waited for their drinks to be ready. After about 5 minutes, the guy working called Toms name and placed 3 drinks on the counter, which Tom picked up and delivered to the table Edd and Matt picked to sit at.

“So, what were you saying? About Eduardo?” Tom asked as he sat down across the table from Edd, who was facing the front door of the coffee shop, interrupting Edd and Matts conversation.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” Edd said, remembering the conversation they were having in the car before coming into the coffee shop.  “Eduardo and Mark rebuilt their house after it was destroyed, too. I think they did it about a year before we did.” Edd took a sip of his coffee. “They needed help with moving back in, so their friend from Australia moved back in. Todd, I think.”

See, Edd and his friends had raised enough money to move out of the apartments they were stuck in for the past few years and move back into the rebuilt and remodeled version of their old house, this being about a year and a half ago. The new house had 3 bedrooms this time, two regular sized rooms, and one extra big room for Matt and all his… things. There was no lab this time nor giant robot under the house. They made sure of that.

“Moved _back_ in?” Matt asked.

“Yeah,” Tom agreed “I don’t remember anyone named _Todd_.” He crossed his arms. Edd, Tom, Matt and Tord moved into the neighborhood long before Eduardo and his friends did, and there wasn’t ever a Todd living next door. Not that Tom could remember.

“He lived with them a long time ago. It was before they moved in next to us. Todd moved back to Australia when Eduardo moved next door.” He took another sip of his coffee.

“How do you know this?” Tom chuckled slightly. It wasn’t normal for Edd to be talking about the neighbors. It was normally Matt doing the gossiping, especially since as he’d been hanging out with Mark a lot since they became neighbors again.

Edd shrugged. “We’ve just been talking lately. Haven’t you noticed, his personality has changed a lot after what happened to Jon.”

Their conversation when on about the neighbors, how they were coping with the passing of Jon, etc, etc, just as Tord finished up in the bathroom. The first thing he noticed when he walked out? The shop was fuller than it had been when he first entered the bathroom. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized who the new people were sitting at the table. His head began to spin. _Shit Shit. Shit._

Why where they here? Why now? Out of all the times they could’ve possibly come to the coffee shop, it had to be now. At the same time as Tord. Fuck. This wasn’t fucking good. Tord wanted to just fucking disappear.

He had to get out of here. They couldn’t see him.

He threw his hood over his head. Tord did whatever he could to make sure they couldn’t recognize him, which really wasn’t much. He walked over to the table his boys sat at and hit the table lightly with his hand. “I’ll be outside,” He said quietly.

“What?” Paul asked. Tord ignored him. He just walked to the door as fast as he could.

Tord was out the door. Thank god. But of course, the door flying open caught someone’s attention. All Edd could see was a man with a red hoodie walk out, and his brown hair spikes sticking up out of the hood. He stopped paying attention to Tom and Matts conversation and stared at the door. Could… that’ve him? It couldn’t have. Could it? Was Tord… okay? Would he ever even come back to London after what happened? Maybe. Maybe he did come back. Maybe Tord had it in him to show his face in London again.

There was only one way to find out.  

Edd put his hand in his pockets pretending to look for something. “You know what,” Edd faked, interrupting his friend’s conversation. “I think I left my phone in the car.” He stood up and started walking away. “I’ll be right back.”

Tom and Matt stared at Edd. “You, uh… you sure?” Tom questioned. Edd was acting... strange.

“Mhm,” Edd nodded. With that, Edd left the coffee shop, his phone sticking out of his back pocket.

 ---------

Tord fought back the growing feeling of tears as he forced himself out the door. There were no tables or chairs outside. Tord began pacing on the sidewalk next to the coffee shop. He was fucking shook, to say the least. He could’ve easily just _exposed_ himself. His head was spinning. Had he been able to think straight, he could’ve easily just gone back in the bathroom and hid until the situation was over. He could've just waited it out.

Tord stopped pacing after a while. He needed to calm the fuck down. He took a deep breath. In the nose, out the mouth. He looked at the door. No way in hell was he going back in there. He couldn’t take the same risk. But, he couldn’t just leave Paul and Pat here, either, right? They only had one car. He wasn’t going to just ditch them. So… what other options did he have? Tord sighed. He leaned on the wall of the coffee shop and took another breath. What was he supposed to do now?

_Buzz, Buzz._

 

Tords heart skipped a beat. His phone sat in his back pocket. Oh god, who was that? Was it… one of them? Did they see him? Did they even have his contact information anymore?

Tord pulled his phone out. Classic, stupid Tord, always assuming the worst. Of course, it was just Patryk, asking what was wrong. Tord rolled his eyes. We’ve been over this, Tord knew what he knew and Paul and Patryk didn’t need to know. That’s just how it was.

He probably freaked out over nothing. They didn’t even see him. He was fine.

Probably.

Tord reached behind him to put his phone back in his pocket, when suddenly-

“Tord?”

He froze. That wasn’t him. That wasn’t his voice. He did not just follow Tord out the door. He wasn’t watching as Tord turned to face him, his face heating up with every second. That wasn’t him standing there. It wasn’t.

“…Edd.”

But, of course, it was him. They stood in silence. Fuck, what else could they do? It’s only been 4 years since their last encounter. 4 years since Tord tried to take over the world. Since he tried to kill them.

Edd… didn’t look too good at the moment. Tord had always known Edd to be happy and cheerful. But right now? He looked scared for his life. Tord wasn’t sure what hell he put him through. He didn’t want to. But he could tell by the look on Edds face. It wasn’t good.

And Tord? What was Edd supposed to think? The right side of his face and neck were all scratched up. Healing, after 4 years, but obvious scars. Lots of em’. He was missing an arm. His whole fucking limb was gone. Replaced by a robot arm. _A robot arm_.

Tord tried to speak. He couldn’t get anything out. What was he supposed to say? Sorry? Where was that going to get them now? “E-Edd, I-”

Tord couldn’t finish his sentence due to Edd running up to the taller Norwegian and squeezing him in his arms as tight as he could. He hugged Tord like it was the end of the world. He hugged him to make up for the last time they departed.

Edd felt tears wield in his eyes. They both did. Only, Edd wasn’t afraid to let them go.

They stood in silence for a while, taking in what was happening. Edd squeezed tighter after a while. This making Tord a little uncomfortable, for he wasn’t a hugger. “You’re okay,” Edd whispered, low enough for Tord to barley make out what he said.

Tords face heated up a little more. “…What?” Tord hesitated.

“You’re okay!” Edd screeched, pulling back and holding Tords arms in his hands. Just like he did the first time he saw Tord again after he came back. “W-We thought you were dead! After everything with the harpoon and Tom, a-and the explosion, I thought you… but now… You’re here! I-I didn’t think you-”

“I’m fine,” Tord said to stop Edds rambling. “Really, I’m okay.”

Edd smiled. He looked around, mainly to prove to his paranoia that Tom and Matt didn’t follow him out of the coffee shop somehow without Edd noticing. “Can we talk?”

Tord hesitated. “That would be… nice,” He really _didn’t_ want to talk, but a moment alone with Edd? When would he ever get another chance like that?

“We can go to my car, if you’d like somewhere to sit,” Edd looked in the direction of the car in the parking lot. “That’s where Tom and Matt think I am, anyway.”

Tord followed Edds gaze to the red van he’d known practically his whole life. He’d driven in that car so many times. It’d been years since he’d even seen it.

“Sure.” Tord agreed. Edd smiled before leading the other to the car. Edd got in the front seat, and Tord hesitantly got in the passenger. God, they used to do this so often. Tord missed sitting there next to Edd, as much as he hated to admit it. It was nice, being in that old car.

Edd sighed, looking down at his hands in his lap. Despite how happy he was before; new emotion had taken over him. He couldn’t really describe it. He was angry. Upset. Confused. He wanted to talk with Tord so bad, he was willing to abandon his best friends for one who betrayed him.

Tord noticed Edds change in personality. He figured Edd wouldn’t be the first speaking while in this state.

Tord sighed. “Look, Edd, I know what I did was wrong, and I shouldn’t’ve-”

“Why did you do it?” It wasn’t a question. Edd was demanding answers.

Tord was taken aback, the expression on his face suddenly made Edd feel bad for snapping at the taller man. He sighed. “I know what happened back then, I don’t need an explanation… or apology, I just… Why?”

Tord froze. He didn’t know what to say. The truth? Tord knew what he knew. Did Edd need to know?

Edd just watched as Tord tried to come up with an answer.

There was silence. A long silence. 

Edd huffed. “Tord… You risked a lot of people’s life’s that day, I don’t think-”

“I don’t have an answer." Tord interrupted Edd, not wanting to hear what he had to say about it. "I'm sorry.”

Edd froze. Tord didn’t look up at him once. Edd couldn’t believe him. Tord had to have _some_ reason to destroy the house. To lie to them. To try to kill Tom. To actually kill Jon.

“Can we not talk about it, please.” Tord whipped his eyes. “I’m sorry, Edd. I know what I did was wrong. I can’t… Can we just drop it?”

“What…” Edd mumbled, stuttering to get his words out. “No! Tord! You lied to me, tried to take over the world! I can’t ‘drop it’! You can’t just disappear for 12 years and expect everything to be just fine! We need to talk about what happened!” Edd stared at Tord as tears fell down his face. “I need this. I need this to find closure. Tord, please.”

Tord sat in shock as he stared at Edd. He wasn't expecting him to freak out like that. Edd was right. This was his fault. It was all his fault they were in this situation in the first place. Fuck, now Edds crying at It’s all because of Tord. Because he’s too scared to face his feelings and talk about the past. God, Tord was weak.

Edd sighed. It didn’t matter what he said to Tord at this point. He could tell Tord wouldn’t talk about it. “Where have you been for the past 12 years?” another question Edd had always wondered. 

Tord was glad Edd was willing to change the subject, but this question didn’t have a much better answer. He couldn’t tell Edd. He couldn’t let him know where he had been. What he’d been doing. Why he tried to take over the world. They all led back to the same answer; Tord's the Red Leader.

Tord sighed. “I’m tired of lying to you,” He finally decided on after much thinking. “You want the truth? I…” Tord hesitated, then sighed. “You… couldn’t handle the truth. No one can handle the truth. _I_ can’t handle the truth! A lot has happened since I left you guys, Edd. You want to know where I’ve been? I’ve been everywhere! I’ve been to London, France, I went back to Norway, I almost died in Peru! I’ve been traveling and fighting. I’ve been in the army, I’ve been leading people and training them, I’ve been building giant robots and losing my fucking arm! I’ve been needing to be there for people and telling them what to do, but fuck, I don’t think I can do this anymore!”

Tord refused to let himself cry, but he sure as hell wanted to. His hair was messy from running his hand through it so many times. He was breathing heavily from his rant, regretting it soon afterwards, for this was information Edd did not need to know.

Edd sat quietly as Tord caught his breath. He was… shocked? That really… wasn’t the answer Edd was expecting.

“Tord? Are you okay?” Edd spoke up after a while.

Tord leaned his head back in his seat. “I’m fine. Just… stressed.” He chuckled lightly. “I’ve been stressed for 12 years straight.”

Edd smiled pitifully. He could only imagine.

“I'm… sorry I yelled at you.” Edd sighed. “I guess I'm a little stressed too, huh?”

Tord smiled lightly. “Don’t worry about it. I deserve it.”

Another silence.

“So, why are you in London? I didn’t think you’d come back…” Edd said, avoiding eye contact at the last part.

Tord froze. Truth is, He was only away from the army because he was too stressed as Red Leader at the moment. It was Patryks idea to take a break. Tord refused at first, but after some augment he agreed. He needed it.

“I dunno,” He lied. “Just visiting, I guess.” Edd nodded and opened his mount to say something, until he was interrupted by Tord. “E-Enough about me,” Tord whipped at his lightly damp eyes. “How are you? With everything that happened… How are you guys doing?”

Edd was a little shocked, for he didn’t think Tord would be interested in how he was doing, let alone Matt or Tom. “Uh… good, I guess. We moved into our own apartments after, what happened, but we earned enough money a couple years ago to rebuild the house, so… we’re living there, together again.” Edd said, trying to think of an answer as quickly as possible.

Tord nodded. “That’s… pretty cool.” He looked away towards the front of the car. “I'm sorry that I… you know.”

Edd stared at Tord. He wasn’t looking for an apology. But… It was still nice to get one from him.

“Did you… did you really mean the things you said that day?” Edd asked after another silence.

Tord paused. He knew this one would be brought up. It took him a while to decide on an answer. “I… told a lot of lies that day.” He settled on.

“Did you mean it, when you said we aren’t… friends?” This was something Edd wondered for years.

Tord sighed, then chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “That was one of the biggest lies I told.”

“…What was the biggest?”

“Gee, I dunno, maybe the fact that I didn’t tell you I had a giant robot stored under the house?”

They both laughed. That was the first and maybe last time that would ever happen. It felt nice, to just sit there with each other in that old beat up red car and… laugh. Just like old times.

“So… What else is new?” Tord asked after another moment. It was getting easier to talk to each other now. “…How’s Matt?” Tord was hesitant to ask, but was still curious.

“Oh, um…” Edds face started heating up. He didn’t think he’d end up telling him. But at the same time… why not? “We actually, uh…” He didn’t know how to word this. “We’re actually together now,” Edd rubbed the back of his neck as he felt his face get hotter and hotter.

“Woah, woah, seriously?” Tord raised his eyebrows and smiled. Edd nodded. Tord was… speechless? He wasn’t expecting that? At all? “Oh… wow. Congrats, Edd. How long?”

“Um, not long. About five or six months?”

“Wow…” Nothing came to mind on what to say. Edd chuckled, seeing as Tord was having trouble speaking.

Edd was about to speak, when his phone suddenly buzzed lightly, causing him to jump. Tord watched as Edd pulled the phone out of his back pocket and stare at the screen for a second. Edd sighed. “I should go. Matt and Tom are getting worried.” He said hesitantly as he put the phone in his lap.

“…Oh,” Tord wasn’t expecting this to end so soon.

Edd looked down at his hands. “Thanks.” He said after a while.

“For what?”

“I don’t know, just… for talking to me, I guess.” Edd shrugged. “Clearing some things up.”

It was Tords turn to avoid eye contact. “No problem.” Tord said. He was honestly… sad that Edd had to leave so soon. There was so much more he wanted to talk about. If only they had more time…

Edd shifted to face the door. He put a hand on the handle, but hesitated to pull it. He looked back at Tord, who was staring down at his lap. “See you around, Tord.”

Tord looked up to make eye contact with Edd, for all he knew this would be the last time. They stared at each other, taking in everything that had happened. Tord nodded after a while, looking back down at his lap. “Yeah. See ya, Edd.” Edd smiled before finally opening the door to walk away so he could meet Tom and Matt back in the coffee shop.

 Tord watched as he left. He thought about everything that just happened. Fuck, he missed Edd. He missed Matt. Hell, a little bit of him even missed Tom. He missed staying at their house. He missed being made fun of for his accent. He missed waking up to the smell of bacon in the kitchen. He missed being their friend. For that split second, he wished he could go back.

Remember when I said that Tord didn’t really feel anything towards his past actions? That all changed. The moment Tord made eye contact with Edd, he regretted everything. He regretted lying. He regretted ruining their friendship. He regretted blowing up their house. And for what cost was this? His arm? God, he never should’ve done it. He could’ve just never left in the first place, and everything would be _good._ But instead, Tord fucked up. He had to fuck up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two coming soon!

**Author's Note:**

> IM SORRY TORD NEVER GETS TO BE HAPPY


End file.
